Sword and Shield

Journey 2

Even as the Old Lady's son poured tea for them, Naofumi could not help but stare in suspicion at said Old lady who sat across from them. All of them were currently sat at the dining room table, staring at each other in silence.

"So," Naofumi was the first to break the silence. "Spill," he said curtly.

The Old lady laughed heartily at Naofumi's brusque mannerisms. "You asked about myself first, so I'll start with that. Not like there's much to tell," she tittered. "My name is Elrasla Grilaroc, a practitioner of the Hengen Musou (Unparalleled Transformation Style) style of martial arts. I'm a former adventurer that has travelled all over the world, seen much, experienced much and fought even more. But that is all in the past. Now, I'm just an old lady trying to live her twilight days in peace. And I truly thought the twilight of my days had come, until you and your merry band showed up, young man."

"Bullshit," Naofumi deadpanned. "If you're just a former adventurer and martial artist, how you could you possibly know about the people gunning for our lives?"

"Naofumi," Shirou sighed at the Shield Hero's less than stellar manners.

Elrasla Grilaroc, again, just laughed. "A former adventurer and martial artist that has experienced and seen much," she reiterated. "I've had more than a few encounters with Shadows and their ilk in my lifetime."

"And just what is a Shadow?" Raphtalia jumped in.

"In simple terms?" Elrasla snorted. "Shadow is a catch-all term used for covert personnel: people that work in the shadows at the behest or in the employ of certain groups, be they countries or organizations. They are spies and assassins that are trained from a young age, and once they reach maturity, they are stripped of their name and identity and become just another Shadow that will do everything that is commanded of them. Not all organizations have them, but you will be hard pressed to find a nation that doesn't have their own group of Shadows working for them."

"So they are meanies that attack people in the back? Blech," Filo, now in her human form, made a face and complained like the child she appeared to be.

"That they are, but they have conviction of nothing else," Elrasla said. "Every Shadow in the world receives mental training that ensures that they will never crack under torture and reveal the identity and motivations of their employer, or master, if you want to be more specific."

Naofumi raised an eyebrow. "And that's why you killed that Shadow instead of capturing them?"

Elrasla huffed. "I didn't kill them. I just knocked them out. A Shadow almost never works alone. If you see one, you can be damn sure that there are a dozen more that you're not seeing. And Shadows are nothing if not thorough. Even if they would never talk, their companions would not tolerate the existence of a potential information leak. If we had captured that Shadow, the other Shadows would do their darndest trying to rescue them, or silence them for good. Not worth the hassle. With the way I knocked them out, that Shadow will be out of commission for a few days, removing them from the picture and hopefully keeping a few of their companions busy with their care in the meantime."

Now Naofumi appeared alarmed. Specifically, he was alarmed at the revelation that there were most likely more of these Shadows skulking around. Not in fifty meters of them, as the Special Ability Detection (medium) was still effective, but anything beyond that was fair game.

"Don't start panicking, young man," Elrasla cautioned. "Shadows don't act overtly, ever. Your average Shadow isn't very strong, so instead of seeking direct confrontation, they'll try any and all underhanded methods to kill their targets. Poison, assassination, manufacturing accidents. This makes them dangerous to be sure, but so long as you keep your guard up, restrict the methods they can strike at you with, and if you are strong enough, it's more than manageable to deal with them."

Shirou pondered Elrasla's words. "The Shadow earlier today tried to get us killed by attacking us covertly in the middle of a pitched battle with monsters," he pondered aloud. "Which would suggest, on top of not wanting our deaths to be able to lead back to them and whoever they are working for, that they are not confident in beating us in a direct fight. So, what Elrasla is saying would make sense in that context…"

"Using poison would not be particularly be effective on us either in normal circumstances, considering the high quality potions Naofumi-sama is capable of making and his abilities being what they are," Raphtalia added.

"Which leaves assassination and manufacturing an accident as the best possible methods to do away with us," Naofumi finished. "And because they are trying to do it in a way so that it cannot be traced back to them, both those things come down to the same thing: a direct or indirect sneak attack."

"Exactly," Elrasla nodded, idly sipping from her now cool tea. "Considering that the political scene is what it is, the Shadows of the Church of the Three Heroes would definitely rely more on indirect methods then direct ones in this situation. I may not know much of politics, but even I know that the death of the Shield Hero on Melromarcian soil would most likely lead to war. Said war would become a guarantee if said death were to happen under suspicious circumstances."

"That's right…" Naofumi nodded, absently agreeing before he trailed off. He looked wide eyed at Elrasla.

"Don't be so alarmed, young man," Elrasla chuckled. "That strangely shaped shield on your arm, plus the fact that you aren't carrying any offensive weapon, gave it away. Not to mention that the Shadow I dealt with earlier was carrying this," she said, holding up another pendant of the Church of the Three Heroes.

Shirou had to wonder when and how Elrasla had snagged that pendant. He had not taken his eyes off her since the moment she had skewered the Shadow to a tree earlier. Was there some trick involved, or was she just that quick?

He wasn't quite sure which answer to that question would be more humbling and/or frightening.

"I was never much of a religious woman," Elrasla chuckled. "And considering you'd helped me, I don't bare you any grudge. So please, trust me when I say I don't mean you any harm."

"The same for me," the man nodded. "That said, I would not advertise that you are the Shield Hero in the village. While most people around here aren't ardent followers of the Church of the Three Heroes, there are still more than a few zealots around."

"That won't be a problem," Naofumi said. "We are merely passing through. After we're done here we will be heading out again."

"Ah, Shield Hero-sama, before you set out once more, I'd first like to make a request of you," Elrasla said, suddenly becoming serious and speaking in a formal manner. "Did you notice on your way here that this village seems to be abandoned?"

"Yes, we did," Shirou cut in. "And I'm guessing you are about to explain why?"

Elrasla nodded. "In truth everyone here is in self-imposed isolation inside their homes, only going out when needed."

"And why would they do that?" Raphtalia asked.

Elrasla was grim. "People usually hide in order to avoid something unpleasant. It's no different in this case: an unknown pandemic has sprung up in these parts. Its origin is unknown, but it's not a particularly deadly disease. Young, healthy people on the whole don't seem all that affected, and if they do develop symptoms they are usually mild, but if you're already sick, very young, or old, as you have seen in my case, it can be deadly without proper care. That said, this disease is highly contagious and those who are vulnerable always invariably seem to catch the disease and develop symptoms."

"…You want me to treat those who are sick, don't you?" Naofumi asked in knowing manner.

"Correct," Elrasla nodded.

"There's plenty for you in it, Shield Hero-sama," the man suddenly jumped in, having learned a little of what made Naofumi tick. "It's not only this village. I personally know of half a dozen villages in the area with sick people. And, much to the misfortune of the people around here, no Apothecaries live in those villages. I bet people would be willing to pay handsomely for your skills and potions."

Naofumi had to admit, this unassuming man knew how to pitch an idea to him, but… "Unfortunately, we have been traveling with the aim of leaving Melromarc, and this was before we knew that the Shadows of the Church of the Three Heroes are trying to get us killed. While I wouldn't mind selling my services to the people here and surrounding villages, I won't do it if it will put me and mine in danger. And I'm guessing that, the faster we leave the country, the safer it will be for us."

Elrasla nodded, not appearing surprised. "I'd figured as much, and because of that, I would like to sell my services to you in turn."

""""Eh?"""" Naofumi, Shirou, Raphtalia and Filo made noises of surprise in unison.

Elrasla chuckled. "You might remember me saying earlier that I wouldn't have been able to detect that Shadow if he had hidden his hostile intentions? To be honest that was a bit of misdirection of my own for any of the other Shadows listening in."

"And why would you do that?"

"Isn't it obvious? I'd said as much just now, to mislead them," Elrasla reiterated. "The Hengen Musou style of martial arts has a few unusual facets that puts it apart from other martial art styles. Some of these facets are a little more…esoteric, and make it possible to keep track of one's surroundings at all times easily."

"Ah!" Raphtalia made a noise of understanding. "So, in other words, you're proposing traveling with us, and using your abilities, you'd keep us safe and warn us if any of these Shadows were getting close?"

"Not exactly," Elrasla shook her head. "Unfortunately, an infestation of some troublesome monsters has taken root down the mountain and has been harassing and attacking any travellers coming in this direction. It's because of this infestation that Apothecaries from other settlements have been prevented from coming, even if there is plenty of work to do here. Instead, I'll propose this: I will go deal with these monsters, and my son will take up the role of keeping you safe from Shadows until I return," she smiled. "Don't worry, I know he doesn't look like much, and he might not be a true martial artist like me, but he is still more than capable of keeping a lookout for a few Shadows."

Said man in question looked resigned. They got the feeling that the man wasn't happy with the job his mother wanted to saddle him with, or the way she was talking about him, but it appeared that he knew that arguing against Elrasla was a fool's job and resigned himself to task.

Naofumi blinked. Once. "This infestation wouldn't happen to be a nest of Green Fire Ants, right?"

"Yes, that's exactly right," Elrasla was about to continue, stopped and blinked a couple of times before opening her mouth again. "You said earlier that a Shadow tried to have you killed in a pitched battle with monsters. Those monster…"

"Were Green Fire Ants," Naofumi confirmed. "We even went to their nest and destroyed it with the use of poison and Incendiary Bombs. We slaughtered those that survived the bombs, Queen and all."

"Hah!" Elrasla struck her stomach in mirth. "What fortuitous coincidence! In that case, I will accompany you myself from the start, because I know my son is not a fan of traveling if it is not absolutely needed," she said, and the son in question looked much relieved. "That is, if you will allow it?"

"…What do you guys think?" Naofumi asked his party.

"I think it's a good idea Naofumi-sama," Raphtalia answered. "She has already shown she is more than capable."

"If nothing else, considering the circumstances, I doubt this is a trap of some kind, and an extra set of helping hands won't hurt," Shirou was more conservative, but still agreed.

"Good idea. The Old Lady feels nice!" Filo said happily.

"She feels nice," Naofumi repeated, dumbstruck. He then shook his head and turned his attention to Elrasla again.

Said Old Lady smiled widely at him. "I guess I'm in, huh?"

"For now, so long as you remain useful," Naofumi countered Elrasla's sass merely out of habit.

That merely got another cackle out of her. "Don't you worry, young man, this old bag of bones won't let you down. I'll even teach you and your youngsters the Hengen Musou. The moment you learn the value of this martial art, you'll be singing my praises from dawn till dusk."

"Somehow, I doubt that," Naofumi deadpanned. "And I don't think any one of us is particularly suited for learning martial arts to begin with."

"You shouldn't make such declarations before learning about the specifics," Elrasla cautioned sternly. "Hengen Musou is highly adaptable. One's talent in applying its teachings may vary from person from person, but anyone has the capacity of learning its principles and amplifying their combat abilities twice over. A level difference of two dozen means little in the face of the Hengen Musou."

Shirou narrowed his eyes at Elrasla's boast. Whatever this martial arts exactly entailed, Shirou's gut was telling him the Old Lady wasn't lying.

"I'll believe it when I see it," was Naofumi's contrary answer.


Shirou and Raphtalia were busy corralling people.

"Everyone! Gather the sick in a circle!" It took some doing, but the family members of the sick in the village arrayed them as instructed, with Naofumi in the centre.

The Shield Hero was joined in the centre by a young child, a girl no older than three, being cradled by her clearly distressed mother. Around them over two dozen sick people were settled around the small town square, similarly being supported by their families and friends. Naofumi cast his eyes over the congregation and raised one of his self-made potions.

[Skill – Medicine Efficacy Up (small)]

[Skill – Medicine Efficacy Up (medium)]

[Skill – Medicine Efficacy Up (large)]

[Skill – Medicine Effect Range Expansion (small)]

[Skill – Medicine Effect Range Expansion (medium)]

Nodding to himself, Naofumi crouched down before the sick child. "Open up and drink, it'll make you feel better," he said, an uncharacteristic gentle edge to his voice, probably because the girl in question reminded him off Raphtalia when she was still small with her chocolate colored eyes, brown hair and cute face.

At her mother's gentle urgings, the girl opened her mouth as Naofumi placed the vail against her lips and tipped it back. The liquid of the potion was bitter, Naofumi knew, but the girl soldiered through in an admirable fashion, and the moment she had finished downing the potion, the Shield Hero's Skills took effect. The girl's body lit up with a faint light, her complexion instantly improving and her breathing smoothing out. And as she improved, the light she was emitting spread out, flowing from sick person to sick person, curing them in an expanding wave. In less than a minute, all of the sick in the town square visibly improved.

Murmurs erupted from everyone in attendance.

"I-it's a miracle!" the mother cried, hugging her child and directing a grateful, teary eyed gaze at Naofumi. "Thank you! You are a Saint!"

"Thank you, mister," the girl murmured, opening her eyes and smiling at him.

The people watching from the fringes were equally impressed.

"Did you see that?" one of them whispered to his fellows in disbelieve. "One simple potion, and poof. A dozen people are cured. How in the hell…"

"It must be a divine gift," another said. "To cure so many people so easily all at once."

"A Holy Saint," another said, a woman, who had clasped her hands as if in prayer. "A true Holy Saint has come to answer our prayers!"

The murmuring picked up in volume. Words of thanks, of prayers, of miracles, of Saints were thrown around like they were going out of style, and Naofumi, who always felt uncomfortable if people were to treat him kindly, had to fight to keep his discomfort from showing.

"Next!" he said simply, and the villager's who had previously been sceptical, eagerly carried their sick friends and family members toward him. The cured, meanwhile, were brought back to their homes to rest.

So it continued, the sick being cured by the dozen with every single potion used. The Mayor of the town, a lady every bit as old as Elrasla, looked on, stress and wariness seeming to fall away from her like the water from a waterfall as she saw her community being cured of its affliction.

"I was sceptical when you brought this Apothecary to me. He hardly seems like the caring sort, even if he'd cured you beforehand," the Mayor breathed. "But I'll freely admit that I was wrong. At this rate, the pandemic will be eradicated from our village within the hour…"

"I thought you'd learned to not ever mistrust my word by now," Elrasla laughed and clapped her old friend on the shoulder.

"True, you have never steered me wrong before," the Mayor laughed along with Elrasla.

They shared a quiet moment of comradery, simply watching the proceedings in silence.

"Besides that, did your runner confirm the Holy Saint's claims?" Elrasla, even as she took on a sudden new way to address Naofumi, suddenly switched tracks, turning serious.

"He returned not ten minutes ago. The Green Fire Ants' nest is gone, exterminated to the last," the Mayor shook her head in an affirmation of her disbelieve. "I don't know what we did to deserve this fortuitous turn of events, but I'm nonetheless glad for it. God must be smiling on us."

"He just might be," Elrasla smiled, chuckling as if she knew a secret she wasn't intending on telling. "And now that the Holy Saint his kept his part of the bargain, I'll have to keep mine."

"Don't try and make it seem like this wasn't exactly what you wanted," the Mayor snorted, giving her friend a look.

"I don't know what you are talking about," Elrasla tried to play innocent.

"Please, remember who you are talking to," the Mayor snorted. "How many times have you come to my home for a drink, whining about the good old days? The days when you were an adventurer, traveling all over the world, battling powerful foes, getting embroiled in wacky escapades and honing your skills? It's virtually all you talk about."

"Alright, you got me," Elrasla raised her hands in surrender. "Honestly, even if they hadn't been able to cure everyone here and took care of the Green Fire Ants nest, I still would have felt obligated to offer them my services. The mere chance to set out and see the world again is more than enough for me…"

"I can't say I'm surprised," the Mayor snorted again.

"That, and," Elrasla continued, shooting a glance at the Shield Hero. "These young one's are in a spot of trouble right now."

"…Which is just catnip for an adrenaline junky like you, isn't it?" the mayor asked knowingly.

"You know me so well," Elrasla grinned shamelessly.


"Ya-ha!"

Two war shouts were released into the air, and sharpened steel rang eerily like the bells of a temple as the blades met each other again and again, said steel reflecting the orange glow of the setting sun. One. Two. Three. Four. Five. Six. Seven. Seven times in quick succession did the weapons clash in the blink of an eye, sparks flying as the two combatants searched for an opening, only stopping when one of them found a hole in the other's guard. The blade swung true, its gleaming edge seeking blood, and the one who lost the exchange of blows was forced to quickly disengage, lest she be cut.

Raphtalia breathed deeply, sweat streaming from her forehead and dripping into her eyes. She was, in a word, drenched, exhausted by constant battle and movement. Her limbs trembled from exertion and though it was difficult to see, there was a faint light of frustration in her eyes.

Shirou, who stood across from her and was baring his sword at her, and who was equally drenched in sweat, still managed to spot Raphtalia's well-hidden frustration. And he knew the reason for said frustration: in every single exchange in this spar, and every other spar before this one, Raphtalia had always come out the loser. When it came to pure physical ability, they were about even, as they were of the exact same Level, even if Shirou's larger mass gave him an advantage. But when it came to skill in wielding a blade, Shirou outclassed her royally in every regard.

Not only that, but as time wore on, the gap in skill became ever greater. At first, Raphtalia could keep up much longer in their spars, to the point that it really was just training together. But Shirou had improved so much so quickly that it had stopped being 'training together' and had become 'being taught' for her. His stance, his footwork, the sheer grace and speed he now displayed as he wielded a blade…all of it now eclipsed her own skill by an order of magnitude.

That said, even if Shirou recognized her frustration for what it was, he wasn't quite sure how to address it. He wracked his brain for some advice he could give, or at the very least some encouraging words, but he had trouble thinking of anything.

Thankfully, someone else who had been watching decided to step in for him.

"Jealousy doesn't suit you, young lady," Elrasla, now decked out in Chinese-looking martial arts style uniform, seemed to warp in front of Raphtalia, reaching up and rapping her on the forehead.

Said raccoon girl yelped, both at Elrasla's sudden appearance and the rap to the forehead.

"Considering this young man's nature, it's only to be expected he would eclipse you when it comes to wielding weapons," Elrasla chided gently. "Don't envy his greater improvement, but instead be grateful for it and his continued tutelage. In battle, an ally's strength is your own, and the fact that you are sparing and training together means that you are both improving. The act of teaching is likewise a form of learning. If party members have one central duty to each other besides looking out for each other, it's honing their own and each other's power."

"I-I'm sorry," Raphtalia stammered, bowing her head.

Elrasla chuckled. "Don't worry your pretty little head, young lady. It's perfectly normal to get frustrated when you see someone else improving more when you put in the same amount of effort. You just need to keep things in perspective, that's all."

Shirou joined them, having sheathed his blade, and nodded towards the now relaxed Raphtalia. "Did you get to see what you wanted?"

Elrasla abruptly got serious. "Yes," she nodded, crossing her arms. "Both of you possess strong spirits," she said to the confusion of both demi-humans. "If you were to strip away all of the concepts and forms of the Hengen Musou style of martial arts and leave only the core of the style you would be left with one key aspect: the energy of life."

The old martial artist smiled at the confused looks she received.

"Let's start simple and with something all of you are already familiar with: the energy of life," Elrasla tittered. "Tell me, what do you think this energy of life I speak of is?"

Shirou and Raphtalia were silent for a moment, both of them pondering Elrasla's question. A second later, a metaphorical lightbulb went off above Raphtalia's head. "Is, is it the energy that a living being produces and Magic Circuits converts into magical energy? The energy that Magic Shop Owner called Life Force?" she ventured.

"Correct!" Elrasla clapped her hands in delight. "That's exactly right. Besides the energy of life, or Life Force, this energy that is an inherent part of life goes by many names, but I prefer the word Ki, as it is the same name the founder of Hengen Musou used. He was the first person who succeeded in harnessing Life Force, Ki, directly and applying it in combat."

"Sounds like a load of quackery to me," Naofumi grumbled from where he was sat on the grass, idly working on one of his concoctions, the ingredients laid out on a tarp in front of him.

"Ah!" Elrasla made a happy sound. "9 out 10 people who are first told this say something similar. In that case, perhaps a demonstration is in order?"

Naofumi did not look up from his work as Elrasla approached him. He had assumed that he wouldn't be included in her demonstration, an assumption that he soon came to regret as the tip of her pointer finger came to rest against the centre of his forehead. The Shield Hero blinked at the pointer finger, almost going cross-eyed trying center his gaze on it.

Then Elrasla curled her finger and flicked him in the forehead.

"Ah, fuck!" a swear and a yelp of pain escaped Naofumi as his head rocked back. The slight hit that by all rights shouldn't even have hurt an ordinary person, much less the Shield Hero, had made his head throb in pain. Moreover, Naofumi could feel the pain radiating from where he had been hit, some kind of vibration radiating outward from the impact zone and rattling his skull. Naofumi's eyes began to swim as he started to lose focus, and he cradled his head with both hands, moaning in pain.

"Master! Are you alright?!" Filo, who had been snacking on a treat Naofumi had made for her, rushed over.

"Elrasla! That was uncalled for!" Raphtalia rebuked.

Elrasla merely snorted at that. "Don't be silly, young lady. I have met people like the Holy Saint before. Stubborn to the extreme and perpetually sceptical. If I hadn't given him a first-hand taste of the capabilities of the Hengen Musou, he'd never been able to grasp and learn what I am offering to teach," she said before turning her eyes back to Naofumi. "Do you feel that, Holy Saint? That is one of the main uses of Ki, applied in the first form of Hengen Musou: point. It's a method that allows a user of Hengen Musou to attack around an opponent's Defence Stat. No matter how hardy the opponent or how sturdy their armor, a Hengen Musou user can bring them down."

"You don't say, you damn old bat," Naofumi moaned, still rubbing his head. Though understandably angry at what had just happened, the Shield Hero still found himself intrigued to learn it. Moreover… "So, in other words, there is a method that literally renders my strongest attribute moot. Fantastic," he said sarcastically.

"Don't worry, Holy Saint," Elrasla said, stepping back. "I and my son are the last practitioners of the Hengen Musou, and while there are other methods of attacking around an opponent's Defence Stat, those methods are few and far between. Moreover, if you are worried of opponents that can ignore Defence, as you rightly should, Hengen Musou will be the answer that you seek to those worries."

"What do you mean?" Naofumi questioned.

"It's fairly simple, Holy Saint," Elrasla shrugged. "Even if the methods might differ, all attacks that can ignore Defence do so in a similar manner: injecting energy into the opponent's interior, thereby doing damage from the inside out. Considering that, it stands to reason that you can render such attacks harmless if you can take control of the energy injected into you, and harmlessly expel it from your person before it can do any harm. With control of your own Ki, you can do just that."

"And," she continued, sweetening the deal. "I don't know if this is true or not, but in the old scriptures handed down to me by my teacher, it is said that Kican be used to further empower a Hero's special Skills. Even if your nature as the Shield Hero were to prevent you from ever mastering Hengen Musou, learning to control your Ki will still be beneficial to you."

To Naofumi, it almost sounded like this Ki was another Strengthening Method that was separate from the Legendary Weapon system. It might even let him enhance the durability of Air Strike Shield and such. "…Fine," he grumbled sourly. "You win. I can see the value in this martial art of yours, though I'd have appreciated a less involved demonstration."

"Now where would the fun be in that?" Elrasla cackled.

Naofumi scowled thunderously at her. The glower that usually made people cower away in fear only elicited another chuckle from Elrasla.

"And what would learning Hengen Musou entail, exactly?" Shirou, who had been quietly listening up till now, questioned.

"Ah, good question," Elrasla nodded. "Besides the usage of Ki, the sheer adaptability of the Hengen Musou is the second factor that sets it apart from other martial arts."

"Adaptability?"

"The skills and techniques that make up the Hengen Musou can easily be applied to other martial arts," Elrasla elaborated. "That's why the Hengen Musou doesn't specialize in the use of a particular weapon. The trade-off will be having to master your weapon of choice, be that your fists or an actual weapon, separately. Once you have grasped the fundamentals of Hengen Musou, you can then apply them to your already existing abilities."

Shirou pondered that for a moment. "So, basically, to put it plainly, once we learn to manipulate our Ki and the basics of the Hengen Musou, we can then start learning to apply that energy and the skills that come with its use to our preferred fighting style?"

"Yes, that's it exactly!" Elrasla praised his deduction as a teacher would. "The Hengen Musou is not really a formal school of martial arts like most people think of it, but it's more a flexible concept that can be applied to any fighting style."

Raphtalia had been listening and nodding along during the conversation. Once they'd finished talking she decided to air one of her observations. "Then, the first step to learning Hengen Musou is learning to feel and control our Ki?"

"It seems I have been blessed with some astute students," Elrasla said, giving them all an appraising look. "You are, of course, correct, young lady. That is indeed the first step: learning to perceive one's own Ki and manipulating it. Unfortunately, that is also the hardest step toward learning Hengen Musou."

"And why is that, Old Lady?" unexpectedly, it was Filo who asked that.

Elrasla shrugged. "Because learning to perceive one's Ki doesn't come with any kind of real instructions except for some general guidelines. The scriptures do not talk about and I cannot give it."

"Wait, what?" Naofumi asked, baffled. "But aren't you a master of the Hengen Musou? How can you not give any instructions about the very first step toward learning it?"

"That's because no two person's learn to perceive Ki in the exact same way. As everyone requires a different method to do so, me telling you how I did it would just set you down the wrong path," Elrasla explained. "The only universal thing to learning to perceive Ki is meditation. Meditation is required to build up your own sense of self, and once you have gained a sufficient sense of self, you will start gaining a sense of your Ki as well."

Now that wasn't vague as all hell, was it? "…I take it back," Naofumi said. "This martial art of yours once again sounds like quackery to me."

"Holy Saint, you'd be surprised how many people have said that to me, only to eat their words later," Elrasla tittered again,

From that day on, half an hour of meditation before sleep was added to the ever growing schedule of things to do each day. Though, honestly, meditating like that at the end of every day more often then not led them to falling asleep during it, exhausted as they were.


"Naofumi-sama, we're about to reach the next village," Raphtalia called from the driver's seat of the carriage. Filo was happily humming along as she pulled the carriage at a steady clip.

"I'll ready my things," the Shield Hero acknowledged and set the book on magic that he was reading aside, reaching for his potions, tools and ingredients.

After adding Elrasla to their party and setting out again, they had been traveling from village to village in the region that was afflicted by the unknown pandemic. They were still heading towards the general direction of Zeltoble, even if they'd been forced to slow down some, but Naofumi couldn't bring himself to consider it a waste of time. Elrasla's son had been right on the money that the people would be willing to pay top dollar for both his abilities and potions, and they had been racking it in ever since.

Moreover, the Shadows hadn't made their presence felt in some time now, not since meeting Elrasla. The old martial artist had admitted that she had felt the presence of people watching them multiple times during their journey so far, but they hadn't done anything hostile or underhanded yet. Naofumi didn't know why that was, but he was content to leave things as they were for now.

He was certain that the current peace wouldn't last, but so long as the Shadows didn't try anything, they could do nothing but remain on their guard.

Considering that, Naofumi found Elrasla's presence to be comforting.

But hell would freeze over before the contrarian man would ever admit that out loud.

"Ah," the guard stationed at the simple wooden fence that cordoned off the village perked up as he saw them approach. The man first focused on Filo, and then on Naofumi as he emerged from the carriage besides Raphtalia. Much to their surprise, the man quickly opened the gate and ushered the group through.

Naofumi's eyes immediately narrowed in suspicion at this, and he signalled for Raphtalia to bring the carriage to a halt. "Don't stop, Holy Saint of the Legendary Bird!" the guard shouted at them as their carriage started to slow down. "There are many sick people in the village, family of mine included! Please, hurry to their aid!"

Naofumi blinked at hearing the moniker. He had been called a Holy Saint before, but the 'Holy Saint of the Legendary Bird' was a new one.

"There isn't anyone else around in the immediate area but us and this guard," Elrasla informed him from inside the carriage, muttering low enough that the guard couldn't hear them.

"Raphtalia, head on through," Naofumi, hearing that, decided to listen to the guard's plea. Still, he'd remained on his guard as he was won't to do.

The carriage headed past the gate, the guard shouting words of gratitude at them as they passed.

"I wonder what that was about," Shirou said from the back of the carriage where he was idly cleaning his sword. "That thing about the 'Holy Saint of the Legendary Bird'…"

"The people have already begun calling the Shield Hero a Holy Saint," Elrasla said with a shrug. "And Filo is a Filolial Queen. The name fits if nothing else."

"I wonder what they would call me if they knew who I actually am," Naofumi grumbled to himself, idly touching the Legendary Shield. People had been able to deduce before that he was the Shield Hero because of the fact that he only equipped a Shield. Because of that, said Legendary Shield had taken on a Weapon Form small enough to fit underneath the covering of his sleeve, hidden from sight.

"Useless speculation," Elrasla shook her head. "Let's just try and find the mayor's or village elder's house."

The old martial artist was correct. They would have to talk with the person in charge in order to set up and organize the situation, so that Naofumi could work his magic and heal people. Not to mention that they had to negotiate a deal first.

Seeing a space beside the deserted Inn where they could stow away their carriage, the group got out and Filo grumbled as she was unhooked from the carriage. To Naofumi's irritation, Filo decided to remain in her Filolial Queen form as they set out to search the village for its leader.

Following their now standard operating procedure, having done the same in the half a dozen villages they had visited before, they asked the few people out and about where the leader of this village lived. Said people eagerly informed them where they needed to go, all of them appearing elated that the 'Holy Saint of the Legendary Bird' had come to their village.

Everyone they talked to here seemed to have anticipated their arrival. Naofumi wasn't quite sure how to feel about that.

They met with the leader, an elderly villager, that had similarly anticipated their arrival and had also taken the opportunity to draw up a Magical Contract in advance. The way Naofumi preferred doing business had similarly preceded them, it seemed.

Said contract had favourable conditions, so Naofumi had no problem signing it after reading the fine print thoroughly. "Thank you," the elderly villager said after they had both put their name down, rolling up the parchment and storing it away. "Now that's done, I'll instruct my people to gather the sick in a single place for treatment."

"I'll prepare my potions and materials, then," Naofumi grunted.

"Thank you, Holy Saint," the elderly villager nodded in thanks, then turned towards his similarly elderly wife. "Samantha, would you please take the Holy Saint and his companions to the farm at the edge of town where most of the sick are being kept? I'll head into the village and gather the sick that are still being kept at their homes."

Ten minutes later, they arrived at the farm. They were led towards a large barn on the property that was separated from the rest of the buildings. Inside, several beds were set up, all of them filled with ailing and coughing people. By Shirou's quick count, there were three dozen sick people being kept in here, and there were still more sick people in the village itself.

This was clearly the most affected village they had visited so far.

"Holy Saint," one of the people tending to the sick, a young lady wearing a simple mask, approached them. "Thank you so much for coming to our aid," she said, bowing profusely.

"Never mind that," Naofumi brushed off the woman's earnest actions. "I have all that I need to start treatments immediately," he said, as he cast his gaze over the sick in their beds. "Before I'd can begin though, we need to group the sick closer together."

"Group them closer together?" the woman repeated, nonplussed.

"Yes," Naofumi said, striding forward, the rest of his party already moving to do just that. He rolled up his sleeve. "Let's get to work."


"Filo, what are you doing?"

Shirou stepped out of the barn, having done all that he could to help treat the sick. As it had gotten rather crowded in there, Naofumi had suggested getting some fresh air while he finished treating the last of the patients. Honestly, he had wanted to stay inside and continue to help as he was won't to do, but as they were close to finished, his continued presence was unnecessary at best or distracting at worst. That led to him stepping outside, and witnessing a peculiar sight.

Filo, who had stepped outside after they had finished moving the beds filled with sick people, was standing close to an area cordoned off by a tall, wooden fence. Inside said fenced off area, where all of Filo's attention was focused, were domesticated monsters roaming about.

Domesticated filolials, to be precise. Both adults and chicks. And most of them were staring back at Filo with frightening intensity.

"Ah, Onii-chan," she said as though distracted, though she didn't take her eyes away from her fellow filolials. Her clawed feet scratched at the ground, as if she was barely holding back from jumping over the fence.

Filo's current behaviour, silent and apparently introspective, was most unlike her. Shirou had to wonder what she was thinking, staring at her fellow filolials that were being kept at this farm. Would she be angry, or melancholy that her kind were being kept here?

"Hmm," she hummed, licking her beak. "These birds look yummy, all fat and ripe. I am certain Master could cook them up good."

Shirou damn near face faulted. "Filo, you realize that these monsters are your own kind, right? What you just suggested is called cannibalism," he said, though thinking further on it, he questioned if any monster would even know or care about a concept like cannibalism?

"My own kind," she repeated, eyes widening a bit as she turned to look at him.

To Shirou's surprise, she suddenly looked a disturbed and a little sad, his words having hit her harder than he would have expected. Not sure what to do, he closed in and stood close by Filo, leaning on the fence and offering his silent support.

"Hey, Onii-chan. Do you know why Master picked me?" Filo suddenly asked.

Shirou blinked. "Picked you?"

"Yeah, why he picked my egg out of all the others," Filo further clarified. "I'm really lucky he picked me. I don't remember much from before I hatched, but I do remember flashes. The people who had my egg before Master… they called me cheap."

"What?" Shirou let slip in surprise, and Filo elaborated at his urging.

Apparently, what little she could remember from before she was hatched, she came from two flightless filolials and she was supposed to be raised for her meat. Apparently, she'd been considered so cheap and below average, that all she had been good for was being chopped up for some jerky.

Until Naofumi picked her egg and changed everything for her.

Even if she hadn't imprinted on Naofumi, Shirou was fairly certain Filo still would have been utterly devoted to the Shield Hero. After all, he'd effectively saved her and given her a new lease on life with a random act.

…Just like Kiritsugu had done for him. Shirou was intimately familiar with the feelings such an act could inspire.

The only difference was that it wasn't an act of kindness. Naofumi had told him that he got Filo's egg from a gacha game, which meant that he had chosen Filo's egg at random. Naofumi had come to care for her as her own person, now that she actually was her own person, but at first, she had been meant as either another source of income, a beast of burden or a front-line fighter. It was just pure chance that Filo had gotten the chance at becoming something more than she had been meant to be.

And Now Filo wanted to know why everything had changed for her. Why Naofumi had picked her out of all the options available to him, what worth he saw in her when she had been deemed 'cheap'.

He could lie, but that didn't sit well with him. Instead, Shirou told Filo the truth as he saw it.

"No one knew you would grow up to become a Filolial Queen, and to be honest, Naofumi didn't pick you for any particular reason. That is just how things happened to turn out." he said, before reaching out and placing his hand on her chest plumage. "But all of us are happy and content. Naofumi may not say it all that often, but he cares for you, as do I and all the others. Even if you had been cheap, if you had still become to be the same person you are now, we still would have cared for you, your so called worth be damned."

"Do you mean that, Onii-chan?" Filo looked at him with wide, soul-filled eyes.

"Of course. You're like the adorable, constantly happy little sister I can dote on that I never had," Shirou confirmed.

"Onii-chan!" Filo cried and, in a puff of smoke, assumed her human form. She jumped up, wrapping her arms around her neck and clinging to him gleefully.

Shirou smiled and hugged her back, happy at having made her happy.

Unnoticed to either of them, on the other side of the fenced off area, another group of three filolials were looking at Filo. They were outside the fence, and weren't part of the local herd being kept on this farm. The filolials were chittering urgently amongst themselves, constantly throwing glances at Filo, before they suddenly ran off.

If anyone would have been able to understand them, they would have heard the word 'Queen' come up regularly.


The Elderly Village Leader bowed towards them. Many of the healing sick and their family and friends were arrayed behind him, following their elders lead. They were at the edge of the village, Filo once more hooked up to the carriage, with their group about to set out again.

"Thank you for all that you have done, Holy Saint," the elderly village leader said, his fellow villagers also adding in words of thank.

"You don't have to thank me, you have already paid," Naofumi said.

"Ah, where will you be heading now, Holy Saint?" the elderly village leader unexpectedly asked.

"We're traveling towards Zeltoble. Now that we have visited and treated all the people in this region suffering from this pandemic, we'll now head straight for Zeltoble," Naofumi answered.

The Elderly Village Leader eyes widened a little. "Ah, excuse me, Holy Saint, I mean no disrespect, but there is still one village remaining where people are suffering from this affliction."

"Oh?" Naofumi raised an eyebrow from where he was sat in the driver's seat of the carriage. "Which village is that? From what I was told in the other villages, this was the last place with sick people."

"That's correct, Holy Saint, but only in this region," the Elderly Village Leader said. "If you're going to Zeltoble, and if you take a direct route, it will take you through the Dark Woods. There's a village of hunters in those woods, and this unknown pandemic has also found its way to them."

As Naofumi pondered that revelation, Shirou spoke up from within the carriage.

"Do you know if this disease has spread any further? Into Zeltoble?" Shirou questioned.

"Not as far as I am aware," the Elderly Village Leader said.

Naofumi shrugged. "We're heading in that direction anyway. It's no skin of my back to offer them my services when I am passing through."

"Thank you, Holy Saint, you're kindness truly knows no bounds. I have quite a few old friends living in that village, and the fact that you are going to their aid is heartening to hear," the Elderly Village Leader bowed again.

Naofumi was about to rebuff the elder's comment on his kindness, but at the last moment seemed to think better of it. "Take care," he said instead, and they set off a moment later.

Once they had left the premises, and they could no longer hear the villagers, Naofumi decided to ask a question. "So, what can you tell me about these Dark Woods and this village of hunters?" he asked Elrasla. Said martial artist was old and experienced, having seen and experienced much in her lifetime of adventuring and plain living. More often then not, she had useful information about, well, anything they asked, really.

"The Dark Woods is a large forest that acts as a natural border between Melromarc and Zeltoble. The monsters that make the Dark Woods their home run the gamut on how high their Levels are and how dangerous they are. In general, the more off the beaten path you tread, the more dangerous the monsters become," Elrasla began to explain. "Within the Dark Woods is but a single settlement: the village of S'warkii. It's the home of an old clan that has lived within the Dark Woods since time immemorial and has developed extensive and effective Beast Lore."

"Beast Lore?" Raphtalia asked.

"The art of hunting, understanding and taming wild monsters, or beasts as the hunters and huntresses of the Dark Woods call them," Elrasla elaborated. "The hunting and understanding of the monsters makes sense to me, even if I only able to use a facsimile of that knowledge, but I was never able to grasp the aspect of taming them and bending the monsters to your will. No matter how many times it was explained to me, that knowledge was just foreign to my mind."

"You sound like you know these hunters and huntresses personally," Shirou observed.

Elrasla chuckled. "Even in the village of S'warkii, there are precious few people capable of using the Beast Lore, but one of them is an old acquaintance of mine: a scoundrel of a man named. Z'aanta. He has his issues, but when it comes to hunting monsters and wielding a bow, the man is without equal."

"Will we encounter any problems going to this village?" Naofumi asked.

"The people of S'warkii live isolated lives and have a peculiar culture all their own, but they aren't hostile to outsiders," Elrasla answered. "On top of that, the monsters we will encounter on the way shouldn't be a problem for you at your current level of Skill and, well, Level. So long as we stay on the paths and don't go gallivanting off deeper into the forest then necessary, we should be fine."

"Good to know," Naofumi said.

The party fell silent as they started their journey towards the forests of the distant Woodlands.


They arrived at the borders of the Dark Woods a day and half later and unfortunately, Elrasla's words would be proven partially incorrect almost the very moment that they entered the Dark Woods.

"I can feel a lot of monster's around, Master," Filo said, even as she continued to trot down the path at a steady clip.

"You aren't the only one," Naofumi muttered, on edge. They'd entered the Dark Woods about fifteen minutes ago, and he'd become aware of several less than kind presences focusing on them the moment they did so. It was only natural that he'd become sensitive to the presence of monsters, as he had to seek them out and fight them on the daily.

And he wasn't the only one that was on high alert. Filo was equally tense, her feathers bristling. Shirou and Raphtalia both had their hands closed around the hilts of their swords, their raccoon ears twitching at every little sound and their tails puffed up and tense behind them.

The only one that was relaxed was Elrasla, but even she was alert and ready to act on a moment's notice if required. "Hmm, if Z'aanta was here," she began to muss. "He would say something like 'the balance of the forest has been thrown out of whack', or some other such rot like that."

"What do you mean?" Shirou asked, raccoon ears still twitching.

"In a forest filled with monsters like this, it would be inevitable we would get into a few scraps along the way," the martial artist answered. "But the fact that there are this many monsters so close to the edge of the forest, and that all of them are so quick to show their hostility… Something is wrong."

Almost immediately, the thought of the Shadows ever acting in the background set Shirou even more on edge. As did the others

They continued their path, remaining watchful, and tense the entire while, until-

"Holy Saint!" Elrasla warned, and dark shapes moved all around them.

"Meteor Shield!" without hesitation, Naofumi deployed his favorite Skill.

The force field of light encircled the carriage, snapping into existence in the blink of an eye. Several banging noises followed as several somethings struck the barrier in quick succession.

Filo came to a halt, and cut herself loose from the carriage. The others quickly piled out and looked at what had attacked them.

They were encircled. Furred creatures that stood on two legs were everywhere around them, even if they only were about the size of a ten year old child, standing on the soil while a few were high up in the trees. Large and sharp front teeth clicked as beady eyes focused on them like how a lion would on an injured, fat gazelle. Crude knives and bows were grasped in small, clawed hands, and makeshift armor adorned their legs and feet, curiously leaving their upper bodies exposed.

Arrows littered the ground around the Meteor Shield, the obvious source of the sudden, ineffectual attack.

[Forest Ratkin Level 18]

"Ratkin," Elrasla muttered in obvious distaste. "Most of them are weak little things, but they're crafty buggers that always attack in large groups. Be careful everyone. Even if weak, Ratkin always have a surprise or two in store if you aren't the one to attack them first."

"Staying inside the Meteor Shield would be best, then," Naofumi deduced, as that would give these Ratkin the least amount of chance of trying anything underhanded.

Not to mention the possibility of interference, from Shadows or otherwise.

Shirou drew his bow and pulled out a Steel Arrow, already knowing what his role in the coming battle would be. Raphtalia's Mithril Longsword made a sharp noise as she drew it and marched up to the very boundary of Meteor Shield. Filo concentrated, energy swirling around her as she prepared a spell. Elrasla remained close to Naofumi, but took a ready stance, positioned as if she was about to throw a punch. Naofumi equipped the Chimera Viper Shield, his free hand pulling out one of his many concoctions from his satchel.

The Ratkin attacked in the next breath.

Arrows pelted the Meteor Shield in a continues stream, even as the melee oriented fighters struck at the hard light barrier with their knives and claws in a staccato rhythm, ineffective though it was. The Meteor Shield was strong enough to stand up to the attacks of a Boss Monster. These monsters, who some would have charitably called mooks, would take several minutes of continues attacks in order to wear the barrier down.

That is, if they weren't interrupted in the meantime.

Shing.

One of the Ratkin cried out, its death throes quickly being cut off in a wet gurgle, its lungs filling with blood. Raphatlia's sword had cut the Ratkin from hip to shoulder in a brutal diagonal cut, and the other Ratkin warbled in alarm and stumbled, obviously being caught off guard by the fact that their enemies could attack through the barrier waylaying them.

Shing. Shing. Shing. Shing. Shing.

Raphtalia swung her blade several times in quick succession, cutting down an equal amount of Ratkin before they had the chance to get out of range. Those that did opened enough distance that, if Raphtalia wanted to cut them down she would have to leave the safety of the Meteor Shield in order to do so.

But that wasn't to say that they were safe now.

Twang. Twang. Twang.

"Faust Wind Sphere!"

A trio of Ratkin wielding bows fell from the tree branches, Steel Arrows having pierced vital areas, their own bows and unfired arrows falling with them. Shirou took full advantage of his increased draw speed his now much higher Level provided. And even if the hits were not fatal on their own, the fall would pancake the monsters regardless.

Another bow wielding Ratkin in the trees widened its beady eyes as it saw its compatriots abruptly die, but that was all the time it had. Firo's spell ploughed into the monster's forehead, blowing its top clean off in a shower of sickening gore. The corpse unceremoniously fell to the earth.

Shirou and Filo didn't let up. Working together they targeted all long range oriented Ratkin that were up in the trees. Arrows pierced flesh and armor alike like tissue paper, and swirling spheres of piercing winds punched holes through bodies or blew extremities clean off.

And that was far from all the Ratkin's woes.

"Hengen Musou, Hidden Technique!" Elrasla intoned, eyes sharp and body taut. "Bullet!"

The Martial artist punched the air in rapid succession, chaining several dozen punches together in the time frame of several breaths. With every punch, a barely visible ripple disturbed the air, soaring forwards like the technique's namesake. These ripples moved so quickly that none of the Ratkin had the time to react, the ripples, these so called Bullets, struck their body, doing no visible damage, even if every Ratkin struck screamed in pain and, if hit in their center mass, invariably spat up copious amounts of blood.

In one breath to the next, she had outpaced Shirou's, Filo's and Raphtalia's combined kill count.

If Naofumi were to hazard a guess, those ripples were the energy Elrasla spoke of. And by the looks of it, it was damn effective if nothing else.

Faced with such overwhelming opposition, and the Meteor Shield rendering their own attacks all but useless, not to mention making their favored underhanded methods and tactics unusable, the horde of Ratkin fell into disarray. The small army of monstrous rats fled, in a disorganized mess, falling over and trampling each other as they ran back into the (questionable) safety of the forest, even as steel tipped arrows, spheres of piercing of wind and ripples of energy continued to reap a bloody toll from their number.

A minute later, the forest fell silent again, the short-lived battle over. Only the blood, gore and spent arrows littering the ground was prove of the sudden conflict that had just occurred.

"That takes care of that," Naofumi said, though he didn't drop the Meteor Shield. In fact, considering his paranoid tendencies, no one was surprised when he refreshed the force field.

"I was must say, Holy Saint, when it comes to setting the pace of a battle, your abilities are top notch," Elrasla said. "When fighting Ratkin, being faced with a multitude of underhanded tactics is a matter of course, but this handy barrier of yours shut all of that down before they even got the chance to use their preferred methods."

Naofumi grumbled something underneath his breath.

"He means thank you," Raphtalia said, giving the Shield Hero a pointed look.

"Yeah! Master is a real softy inside!" Filo added the none-sequitur, and Naofumi turned to look at the Filolial with irritation and bewilderment.

Shirou held back a snort. In that moment, Naofumi looked remarkably like a grumpy dog.

Elrasla chuckled before growing serious again. "That said the fact that we won the fight doesn't mean we're out of the woods yet."

"Uhm…"

"I didn't mean it as a pun!" Elrasla quickly added, realizing her mistake and blushing.

Shirou raised an eyebrow at her. "You were saying something about us still being in danger?"

"Yes," Elrasla coughed. "Ratkin come in several different varieties, but they all search one universal trait: vindictiveness. I won't say it's guaranteed, but chances are that we haven't seen the last of the buggers…"

"Wonderful," Naofumi said sarcastically.

"That just means we'll have to remain on guard," Raphtalia pointed out. "And really, we would have done that anyway."

"True," Naofumi conceded. "Let's just get the drops and go."

Naofumi quickly absorbed all the slain Ratkin into his Legendary Shield.

"No matter how many times I see that, I still find it odd," Elrasla muttered.

"You get used to it eventually," Shirou assured.

They piled back into the carriage and hooked Filo up. And with that, they were off again.


In spite of Elrasla's cautioning words they arrived at S'warkii two hours later without further incident. Well, no incident related to Ratkins, at least. They still had about a dozen scraps with a variety of monsters on the way there, but nothing really significant. The monsters in question just ended up as feed for the Legendary Shield.

They road into town, briefly being stopped by a guard - more of a lookout really, since there wasn't a gate or anything like that – before entering proper.

Much like all the other villages they had visited before, it was quiet, virtually all people hiding in their homes. The buildings themselves were a bit smaller and rustic looking, adorned with a variety of animal hides and paraphernalia, but it the village looked mostly the same as the other villages. Except, of course, the fact that it was built smack-dab in the middle of a forest, tall trees surrounding the little hamlet and throwing shadows everywhere.

"Well, we're here," Naofumi said, releasing breath. "Let's go look for whoever is in charge."

"I see a pretty big house over there, Master," Filo pointed with her wing to a relatively large house in the middle of the village.

They left the carriage behind near the Inn – both Naofumi and Shirou were surprised that such a small village hidden away in the woods even had an Inn – and headed to the presumed house of said leader of S'warkii.

When they'd arrived, they were surprised to see a woman standing by the door. And even though the door was closed, going by her moving mouth and motions, she was holding a conversation with a person beyond said door. It was probably because of the pandemic.

What was more eye raising, though, was the white, grey and black coloured feline that was lounging at the feet of the woman, stretching luxuriously across the ground.

Unbidden, Shirou's eyes focused on the feline, his Status Magic triggering.

[Snow Leopard Tyrant Lv: 38]

Like the name implied, the feline looked like a snow leopard, but it was much bigger than it had any right to be, tiger-sized as it was. It's fur was white, with grey streaks and black rosettes. As it yawned, it revealed a mouth with sharp fangs and massive dagger like incisors, equally large claws adorning its feet. A long tail swished lazily behind it, decorated with a single purple feather.

Its eyes had been closed in relaxation and contentment, curled up on the ground as it was, but they drifted open as the feline noted their approach. Suddenly alert, the slit, bright yellow eyes focused on them with all the intensity an apex predator could muster.

The woman it was lounging besides noticed them at almost the exact same moment as the feline did. She turned towards them, eyes equally as sharp as the massive leopard.

Said eyes were a piercing green, and she had messily braided light brown hair. The greying fur of some monster was wrapped around her neck and hung to the small of her back, like a large scarf. She was clad in a form fitting beige shirt, made from the skin of a monster, black pants, grey boot-warmers, and brown gloves on both arms. Feather earrings were attached to her ears and flapped in the light breeze. A belt encircled her waist, and to the buckles of said belt were attached arrowheads, and a full quiver. Her face, while young – they'd guess the woman was in her early twenties – was sharp and full of focus.

And as they were watching her as they approached, she was studying them intently, sharp green eyes drilling into them.

"Can I helpen thee?" the woman asked, speaking in the same odd way the lookout had when they'd entered the village. The woman's eyes briefly darted to Filo, narrowing imperceptibly.

"We would like to speak to whoever is in charge here," Naofumi said gruffly.

"For what purpose?" the woman asked. By her feet, the Snow Leopard Tyrant had not blinked since the moment it had noticed them. It eyes seemed to focus Filo, who stared back without blinking.

"I'm a traveling Apothecary, and these are my companions. I would like to speak to the leader in this village and offer my services," Naofumi explained.

"Ah," the woman's eyes widened, nodding. "I see'en. In that case, I can guarantee that the head hunter woulded indeed speaken with thee and thine companions…"

"Indeed, I woulded," an older voice said, and the door opened. A grizzled odd man clad in furs and bone implements stepped out.

The female hunter took a few steps aside, giving the apparent leader of the village the space needed to step outside and face the group. The Snow Leopard Tyrant followed her, slinking gracefully.

"You aren an Apothecary, you say," the Old Hunter said.

"I am."

"Ye any good?"

"I believe so, and the people I helped on the way here were of the same mind," Naofumi snorted, and contrary to what most people would have thought, he actually appreciated the Old Hunter's gruff manners. It made getting down to business easier and quicker.

"Hmm," the Old Hunter hummed in thought, his eyes idly drifting over the group, only to freeze as they landed on Elrasla.

Said old martial artist noticed and gave the Old Hunter a cheeky wave. "Ah, remember me, old chap? Even if it's been a decade or three since last I visited, and we were never particularly close...?"

"You aren…Z'aanta's old companion."

To the side, the female hunter's eyes widened, and the ears of the Snow Leopard twitched.

"Oh, does the scoundrel still speak of me from time to time?" Elrasla asked.

"Sometimes," the Old Hunter confirmed.

"Only good things, I presume?"

"Sometimes," the Old Hunter repeated, an amused tilt to his voice.

Elrasla chuckled a little. "That sounds like him. Stalwart though he was during a hunt, and a fight, his manners and actions outside of that left something to be desired. But then again, I wouldn't have it any other way. It was much more amusing like that. Speaking of which, has that man finally mastered the art of staying out of debt?"

"No, though try he might, thee skill continues to eluden him to this day."

That elicited another chuckle, and a rueful, amused shake of the head from Elrasla.

"So, where is the man? I can't imagine him hiding away in his home, regardless of the sickness," she asked.

"Master is currently out on a hunt, in a distant land," the woman standing off to the side said.

Elrasla raised her brow, her lips curling up into a smile. "Hoh-hoh! Master, you say? I last spoke with Z'aanta over two decades ago. At the time, he'd mentioned something about having taken in a young lass who had lost her parents. That would be…"

"Me," the huntress confirmed, nodding. "H'aanit is mine name. And this is my partner, Linde," she said, reaching down to scratch the Snow Leopard Tyrant at her feet behind the ears. "And ye are Elrasla, a martial artist and an old traveling companion of Master. Master has mentioned thee from time to time…"

"Only good things, I presume?" Elrasla asked the question for a second time with a cheeky grin.

"I'd be lying if I said yes, but I can repeaten only the good things if thee would liken," H'aanit answered with exasperated amusement and fondness.

"So honest, and so proper," Elrasla chuckled again. "To think that scoundrel of a man could raise such a fine young woman like yourself. I wouldn't have believe it if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes."

"Yes, yes. This is all very heart-warming," Naofumi cut in, annoyed, ignoring the way Shirou gave him a reproachful look. "But we're here on business."

"Ah, excusen me," H'aanit bowed her head in apology. "I wasn't my intention to waste thine time. I'll be on mine way, then."

"Forgive the Holy Saint's brusque manners, child," Elrasla said, shaking her head. "We're indeed here on business, and only passing through at that, but the Holy Saint would do well to learn to be more patient. That said, I'm sure he won't mind we having a little chat before we depart again. I would love to learn what that scoundrel has been up to since last I saw him."

H'aanit raised an eyebrow, looking at the so called 'Holy Saint', who looked on in annoyance at how Elrasla was speaking about him. "I would liken that. I would also liken to hear any…interesting tales ye might have of Master…"

"Please, child, I would have told you those stories even if you hadn't asked for them," Elrasla smiled a smile full of malice. "Z'aanta, prideful man that he is, would never tell about his mistakes and embarrassing anecdotes. It's my duty as an old friend to correct this error of his, and besides, as it seems that Z'aanta has been saying less than kind things about me over the years, I think turn around is only fair, right?

H'aanit's expression was curious mix of amused, exasperated and fond. It answered Elrasla's question in a way words could not.

"I'm staying at Master's house while he is away," H'aanit said. "I trusten thee knows where Master's house is?"

"If he hasn't moved in the last two decades, then yes."

"He hasn't," H'aanit confirmed. "I looken forwards to thine visit," she said nodding a farewell to all of them, before leaving, Linde following at her heels.

Naofumi grumbled something under his breath about wasting time and meddlesome old women. He turned back to the Old Hunter. "Shall we get to business, then?"

The Old Hunter nodded and gestured for them to enter his house. "Aye, we shall."


"Next!"

The teenager carried his visibly improved father, an old burly man you didn't think even had in him to get sick, away, even as both of them thanked Naofumi profusely. Similarly, the group of sick people that had been crowding around them had also improved. The healing people, were switched out with more of the sick, and the process continued.

S'warkii was the smallest village they had visited so far, but there were still a few sick people' in need of treatment. This unnamed pandemic really was virulent, even if it wasn't particularly dangerous. That said, Naofumi had been busy administering his potions for well over an half an hour or so, and now there were only two or three groups remaining. After that, they would be done here.

Raphtalia and Shirou were helping carrying people, placing them in tight groupings around the Shield Hero so that his Skills could have maximum effect. Filo, having taken on her human form, was milling about looking bored. Elrasla had left as soon as she'd done her part to help, going off on her promised visit with H'aanit.

Since Elrasla had been gone for little less than an hour, he imagined they were having a productive little discussion. Naofumi had never met this Z'aanta, but for some reason he felt an inordinate amount of pity for the man.

Putting aside said feelings for now, he focused on his works. And fifteen minutes later they were done treating the last of the sick, the group being left alone in the center of the village.

"That's that," Raphtalia said, washing her hands in a nearby bucket.

"Good work everyone," Naofumi said. "Now we just need to collect the reward and we can continue on to Zeltoble."

"Hold on, Holy Saint."

They turned to look where the voice came from. Elrasla and H'aanit were making their way towards them, Linde slinking in their shadow. Moreover, there was a nondescript man walking beside them, wearing clothes that were a cut above the average villager and, much to Shirou's and Naofumi's surprise, a fedora cap.

Shirou, admittedly, never played many videogames, but even he had good idea where this was going.

"Holy Saint, I've been told that thee and thine companions are capable warriors," H'aanit began with no preamble. "If true, I would liken to make use of thine services."

"I guess there is a story behind this?" Naofumi crossed his arms.

"There is," the nondescript man spoke up. "The Dark Woods is a popular route for merchants and trade caravans traveling between Zeltoble and Melromarc, and because of that it sees a lot of traffic year round, but the last two trade caravans leaving off from my Lord's lands never even made it to S'warkii."

"Hmm. Bandits, or monsters?" Naofumi asked. Either was a viable option.

"A monster, I'm afraid," the nondescript man said. "Just this morning, the two survivors of the last trade caravan - a merchant and one of his companions - came limping back towards my Lord's manor in a frightful state. Their story is…less than encouraging."

The man's voice was heavy with words unspoken. They continued to listen in silence.

"The trade caravan had been waylaid by the monster, and the two were the only survivors."

"How dost thou knowen this beast was responsible?" H'aanit questioned.

"My Lord Ciaran's scholars were called upon to investigate the matter," the nondescript man in the fedora cap continued to explain. "From the merchant's testimony, they'd concluded that the caravan was attacked by a monster known as a Ghisarma."

"I know of the kind of monster you are speaking. I've fought one or two in my lifetime," Elrasla said, rubbing her chin in thought. "But I've only encountered such monsters in distant lands nowhere near close to either Melromarc or Zeltoble. What in the nine hells is a Ghisarma doing in these lands?"

"I, too, have hearde of this kind of beast," H'aanit mused out loud. "Its presence woulded be an ill fit for the Dark Woods, having abandoned its home."

"This state of affairs must be brought to a resolution, as fast as possible. Both the safety of my Lord's subjects and any would be travellers or merchants depend on it," the nondescript man said. "And so, we turn to the most capable hunter in the village. In Master Z'aanta's absence, that would you, H'aanit. But we also seem to have the good fortune that S'warkii is currently playing host to group of capable adventurers."

The nondescript man bowed his head to all of them in a show of sincerity.

"So, I ask of you all, will you help rid the Dark Woods of this menace?"

"Tellen thine Lord I shan't faile him," H'aanit offered her support immediately.

"What's in it for us?" Naofumi groused.

Behind him, Raphtalia sighed and Shirou face palmed.

"Wow, you just ruined the moment, Master," Filo, of all people, said it out loud.

Naofumi ignored the peanut gallery and stared at the nondescript man.

"You need not worry. Lord Ciaran is a wealthy man, and he rewards handsomely those who do him a good service," the nondescript man said, taking hold of a pouch tied to his belt. Unfastening the rope that held it shut, he dumped the pouch's contents into his open palm.

More than a few eyebrows were raised.

Half a dozen gold coins glinted in the sparse sunlight.

"If you agree to aid us, you can split the reward however you like."

"…Why does your Lord offer such a large reward for killing but a single monster?" Naofumi asked, his paranoia rearing its ugly head. He hadn't yet hunted down monsters for a reward, but he was certain that such a large sum of money was rather atypical.

"Besides wishing to keep his people safe, this Ghisarma is also a threat to the economic stability of Lord Ciaran's land's," the nondescript man said. "The constant influx of merchants and coin that the trade route between Melromarc and Zeltoble provides, not mentioning the taxes that result from it, forms a large part of my Lord's yearly revenue. Compared to that, offering a few measly gold coins in order to ensure the stability of said revenue is but a small price to pay."

Naofumi grunted at the explanation. He could believe that. It was certainly easier to believe that this Lord Ciaran would offer so much in such a scenario, and not only out of the goodness of his heart.

"Holy Saint, will thee and thine companions aiden me?" H'aanit asked. "I knoweth precious little about this beast, but what little I knoweth tells me that it is a frightful adversary."

"Even if it means splitting the reward?" Naofumi raised an eyebrow.

"I, as do most people of S'warkii, caren little about monetary rewards. If ye desire the entirety of Lord Ciaran's reward, I'd gladly offeren it all to you if it woulded securen thine help."

In the face of such sincerity, Naofumi could give only one response. "…Fine, we'll help," he grumbled a little.

"Thanken thee," H'aanit bowed her head. "Linde has judgeth thee and thine worthy. It is not often that she warmeth to strangers. Knowing that thee will aiden me puts mine worries about the coming battle to rest."

Naofumi looked at the lounging snow leopard by H'aanit's feet, who gazed lazily back at him. He wasn't quite certain how to feel about being judged by a monster, or how much stock one could put on the thoughts and opinions of said monster.

He wasn't all that kind, and de certainly didn't consider himself all that worthy…

But if H'aanit considered it enough, then he would just accept it. He nodded and held out his hand in sealing the deal sort of way. H'aanit shook it firmly.

"One question, though," Shirou unexpectedly spoke up, looking at the nondescript man. "If the last two trade caravans were destroyed before making it to S'warkii, how did you get here in one piece all on your own? You weren't just lucky, were you..?"

All of them turned to their eyes towards the nondescript man. Especially Naofumi was suddenly wary.

The nondescript man smiled. "Lord Ciaran is a collector of arcane artifacts both old and new, and he isn't adverse to lending those artifacts out if the situation warrants it. Artifacts of power, of speed, of stealth…"

As the man talked, he idly played with a ruby necklace fastened around his neck.

Hmm, Shirou narrowed his eyes. That warranted following up on.


"…Spirits haven mercy," H'aanit murmured.

After having hashed out the details with Lord Ciaran's messenger, not to mention collecting their reward for aiding the people of S'warkii, they had immediately set out. H'aanit and Linde joined them on the carriage as they headed towards the location they had been informed where the last trade caravan had met its end.

That place happened to be somewhere close to the halfway point between S'warkii and Lord Ciaran's lands, which were a part of Zeltoble.

What they found there was nothing less than carnage, in every sense of the word.

Filo brought the carriage to a halt without any prompting as they came upon the scene: pockmarked ground, carriages smashed down to kindling, and mauled beyond recognition human bodies laying all over. Wherever they looked, blood coated everything.

Silent as the grave, they piled out of the carriage and surveyed the scene. All of them had seen some less than wholesome things in their lives, no matter how young or old they were, but not a single one of them could look at such a scene of carnage and not be brought to pause.

"This was not done in the name of survival," H'aanit continued. "This Ghisarma, it did not seeken food, but sport…and wanton slaughter. This was but a show, a demonstration of sorts, declaring itself the master of the Dark Woods."

Besides her, Linde crouched down, looking ready to pounce, and growled into the shadows ahead. All of them tensed up, readying themselves.

Paradoxically, H'aanit relaxed as a duo of wolf-like monsters emerged.

[Forest Wolf LV: 21]

Even though Naofumi realized these were not their target, he nonetheless stepped forward, ready to defend if necessary. Only to pause in confusion as H'aanit raised her arm and stopped him.

"…I see thou tremblest, little ones. Thine hearts are fillede with fear," the huntress said and crouched down, beckoning the wolves over.

"What is she…" Shirou was about to step forward, but Elrasla's hand on his arms stopped him.

"You, and H'aanit, have nothing to fear," Elrasla said. "Didn't I already tell you? The Beast Lore of the hunters of S'warkii is without compare."

After a moment, the wolves approached slowly. They slinked up to H'aanit, taking in her scent, even as Linde watched them like a hawk. Much to the surprise of everyone but Elrasla, H'aanit reached out and touched both wolves, and they immediately relaxed, totally calm and subdued.

"Thou both witnessedst what the beast did," H'aanit murmured. "Patience, little ones. We have been callen on to taken care of this menace. Wilt thou protect the bodies of these innocents, friends, until our return?"

With perfect seriousness, H'aanit made a ludicrous request of wild monsters. Nonetheless, no matter how counter to their nature, the wolves laid down, eyes trained on the deceased. But there was no sign of hunger, of the intent of ripping into the bodies and consuming their meat, only attentiveness, as if they were really standing guard as requested.

H'aanit nodded and stood up. "…I haven picked up the Ghisarma's track. Followen me. It cannot have gotten far."

Withholding their questions, they followed after the huntress, leaving the main path behind and heading down one of the smaller side paths. They were silent for a good five minutes as they walked, before someone spoke up.

"Uhm, Ms. H'aanit? How did you..?" Raphtalia began.

"I'm afraide it woulded do thee little good if I weren to explain," H'aanit said, Linde stalking beside her. "None of you possess the nature required."

"Nature?"

"An innate skill, an inborn talent, a certain way of viewing the world," H'aanit rattled off. "It is not something that can be taught. Thee muste be born with necessary traits and disposition, otherwisen the Beast Lore willen be foreign to thine mind. Even amongst the people of S'warkii, precious few can learne and put the knowledge to usen."

"Like magic? Because of one's Origin and Element?" Shirou questioned.

"Similar, yes, but somewhat different, even if I believen the root cause to be the same," H'aanit answered.

They fell into silence again, walking on deeper into the forest. They walked silently for over ten minutes, and only then they begin to notice how quiet it was, or how odd it was they had yet to meet any hostile monsters.

"Everyone, look closely," Shirou murmured, his sharp eyes darting in every direction, looking into the shadows of the forest. At his urging they did, and only then did they notice that hidden in the shadows of the underbrush of the forest laid the remains of many slain monsters. Dozens of them, of every variety, in every direction.

Naofumi felt the urge to absorb them in his shield but held back. He could take his time to do so after they had dealt with this Ghisarma.

"Thee haven sharp eyes," H'aanit praised as she continued to lead them deeper into the forest. "Yes, it is as thee fears. To eaten, to be eaten…this is the fate – and privilege – of any beast. A life for a life, so it has been seen the dawn of time. But to slayen for sport is to betrayen to law of nature."

"Beasts breeden quickly. They are born, grow, fight, feeden on one another, grow stronger, only to be slain and becomen food for another. Often in a matter of days. Because of this, it truly taken action beyond bounds to upset said balance, as by its nature it is robust beyond measure. But this Ghisarma has already done so, in frightening little time," H'aanit said gravely.

"Upset the balance," Shirou repeated, remembering what Elrasla said earlier. "The Ratkin…"

"Yes, thee aren correct," H'aanit said. "Elrasla tolde me about thine encounter with the Ratkin earlier today, about their ambush and immediate, uncharacteristic aggression. That is the fault of the Ghisarma, its actions haven upsetten the balance of the forest, with the beasts that callen the Dark Woods home have been thrown into disarray by the unmitigated violence. Killede by the dozens, driven from their home territories. Is it any surprise that the beasts of these forests have turnede aggressive to any and all?"

"This all sounds like hogwash to me. All this nonsense about balance and whatnot," Naofumi mused.

"Then thee shoulded open thine mind more, Hero of the Shield."

Naofumi tensed, narrowing his eyes.

H'aanit chuckled. "It is no greaten mystery how I knowen thee identity. Elrasla merely told me earlier beforen we setten out on this quest."

"And why would she do that?" Naofumi, none too pleased, turning to look at Elrasla.

Said martial artist shrugged. "Why shouldn't I? When Lord Ciaran's messenger came along and began to tell about the situation, I figured it would be better of H'aanit knew who exactly she'd be working with. In battle, knowing the capabilities of your allies is paramount. The fact that you are the Shield Hero is rather important, and informs one of what your role will be during combat. And although, I haven't known her for long, she has proven to be of excellent moral fibre. I saw no reason to hush up your identity, Holy Saint."

"Thee haven no reason to worry, Hero of the Shield. You haven already proven to me that you're a kind person, and as you are aiden me, there is no reason for me to backstab you. I willen not speak about thine true identity," H'aanit assured.

Naofumi grumbled something beneath his breath, before shaking his head. "Fine, but next time, Elrasla, please run these things by my first."

"Will do, Holy Saint."

They continued their trek through the woods, following a path only H'aanit could follow. They had long since stepped off the path. During their walk, Naofumi had idly revealed his shield and equipped the Chimera Viper Shield. And as they walked, no monsters appeared to bar their path.

Honestly, that was more unnerving than anything else.

"It is close," H'aanit announced, and both Shirou's and Raphtalia's raccoon ears twitched as suddenly the sound of bestial roars and battle reached them. "Let's moven!"

They picked up their pace, sprinting and mentally preparing themselves for the coming battle.

The group crashed through several bushes, and emerged into a clearing. A pack of monstrous wolves prowled in said clearing, half their number already laying slain, and the prowling wasn't being done in an effort to appear menacing or attack, but to keep their distance and hopefully find an opening to escape from the enemy they were facing.

And said enemy was advancing on them like the apex predator it was. It was a large quadrupedal monster that was over ten feet tall, even on all fours, and it looked faintly like a rabbit. Black fur grew along its back and curved tail, leaving the rest of its body exposed and revealing noxious looking purple skin. All four of its limbs were long and gangly looking, rather monkey-like, and only they were positioned like how a frog would. Its head hung low, bulging red eyes with small black pupils darting around in their sockets, and rabbit-like ears, folded downward, twitched rampantly. Droll dripped out of its mouth, said cavern filled with rows upon rows of needle like teeth.

[Ghisarma LV: 40]

The Ghisarma was about to pounce on its prey, but was halted from doing so as an arrow struck the ground in front of it, announcing the presence of the new arrivals. It turned to look and its eyes came to focus on a huntress on the prowl.

"Unacceptable," H'aanit announced, stepping forward and lowering her bow. "Leave, friends. We willen taken care of this beast."

The monstrous wolves whimpered, and they took the chance to slink away into the shadows of the forest. The Ghisarma showed no inclination of following, apparently having found its new opponents much more delicious prey to hunt.

"Thou scaren me not, beast," H'aanit said lowly as the Ghisarma growled menacingly at them.

As if insulted, and to show H'aanit that she should fear it, the Ghisarma launched itself forwards. And launch was indeed the correct word. The position and form of its limbs were not just for show. One second, it was still and stationary. The next, it was in H'aanit's face, needle like teeth bared and ready to maul her.

BONG!

Only to bounce off Naofumi's shield, the Shield Hero having stepped in front of the huntress. As he'd been standing right next to her from the start, his customary position at the front of their formation, it was easy for him to do so. That said, even if he had solidly deflected Ghisarma's attack, the Legendary Shield rang like a temple bell in his hands, and his feet slid back from the sheer force he had been struck with.

Naofumi held back a groan, both at the vibrations traveling up his arms into his body, and the sudden realization that the Ghisarma was probably the most powerful monster they had met so far.

Lovely, he thought. For a moment, Naofumi felt annoyed at his own sarcasm, even if it was only in his own head.

H'aanit hadn't even flinched. "Thou scaren me not, beast. Or shoulded I sayen, scaren child," she said and nocked an arrow, the string releasing a clear sound as it was pulled taut. "Come, beast. Leten put an end to thine long, sadden story."


The Ghisarma wasn't, compared to the previous foes they had faced, in any way special. It did not have the Skills of the Spear Hero, or anything equivalent. It did not have the weaponry and armor the Zombie Giants were equipped with. It didn't have the ability the fly, or use magic, like the Green Fire Queen Ant could. It did not possess the lightning fast reflexes of the Blotted Viper. Nor was it as terrifying to face as the Two Headed Black Dog.

What the Ghisarma did have, however, was its unmatched speed, which was far greater than any opponent they had faced so far, and the resultant ability to do massive damage with its sheer bulk.

The ground underneath the monster cratered a little as it pushed off, and in the blink of an eye it had crossed the distance.

Naofumi reacted instantly. "Meteor Shield! Everyone, move!"

The force field snapped into existence, and everyone heeded the Shield Hero's command, knowing what was about to happen. If Naofumi ordered them to move, then…

CRASH!

With a sound reminiscent of shattering glass, the Meteor Shield buckled immediately in the face of the Ghisarma's charge. It crashed through it, barely slowing down, but it bought enough time for all of them to scatter in every direction.

"Faust Wind Sphere!"

Filo spat a condensed sphere of piercing wind into the Ghisarma's side as it passed them by, unable to stop its charge. Blood erupted as it struck home, but it did little real damage.

"Ugh! it's skin is tough, Master!"

Besides speed, the Ghisarma was also deceptively graceful and dexterous. It landed vertically on the length of one of the massive trees that made up the Dark Woods, using its limbs to swing around and launch back towards its prey without losing any speed whatsoever.

"Air Strike Shield!" Naofumi cast the ethereal shield in front of the Ghisarma's chosen target, Raphtalia.

Again, the Skill shattered immediately on impact, but it did buy Raphtalia enough time to dodge the Ghisarma's massive bulk.

Shirou put away his bow, the monster moving too quickly for him to make an accurate shot. Instead, he drew his sword and set his stance, the hope that the Ghisarma would pick him as the next enemy to go after brushing against his consciousness.

It seemed the monster was willing to comply. Using another tree as a springboard, the Ghisarma set upon them again, this time having chosen Shirou as its target.

"Shield Prison!"

The sphere of overlapping shields was barely finished forming before the Ghisarma bulldozed straight through it.

Of course, Shirou had used the time Naofumi's action had bought to dodge, but only by a few inches. He swung his sword, timing it at just the right moment, and the blade sliced a deep and long gash into the Ghisarma's side as it passed by him, the demi-human using the monster's own momentum and speed against it.

Elrasla, having seen the trajectory the Ghisarma had taken, had set herself in the monster's path and took a stance: legs bent, arm pulled back, and muscles taut.

The Ghisarma roared, pissed off at the pain and its constant failed attacks, and sets its sight on the target that had oh so helpfully offered itself to be devoured.

Big mistake.

"Old Lady! What are you-!?"

"Hengen Musou, Hidden Technique," Elrasla intoned, energy visibly rippling and swirling around her pulled back arm and fist. "Lance!"

The Ghisarma was in her face.

Elrasla's hips twisted, her arm snapping forward like a coiled viper striking, her wrist twisting as she performed a picture perfect straight punch. An iridescent glow surrounded her fist, Ki packed into it to the bursting, and it landed square on the Ghisarma's jaw with the same sound as a car running into a brick wall.

And that was more or less what happened.

The ground shattered underneath her feet, but Elrasla, somehow, someway, held her ground, even as there was the sickening sound of bones snapping.

The Ghisarma howled through its broken jaws, rearing back. More importantly, for the first time since the battle started, the Ghisarma was no longer moving or darting around, stationary in front of Elrasla.

Capitalize.

Acting immediately, Naofumi flung one of his concoctions. The glass bottle shattered against the side of the Ghisarma's head, releasing the yellow powder, the paralyzing agent setting in. In the very next moment, static yellow electricity danced up and down the monster's body, locking-up its muscles.

The others saw the opportunity for what it was and struck with deadly intent.

H'aanit's arrows punched into and through the hide of the Ghisharma. Raphtalia's Mithril Longsword plunged into the Gisarma's side, taking advantage of the long gash Shirou had already inflicted. Shirou rammed his blade into one of the Ghisarma's hindlegs, targeting and piercing the joint of its knee. Elrasla had not stopped attacking after stopping the Ghisarma in its tracks, fists and legs continually whipping around and pounding into its flesh with brutal hit after brutal hit, her Ki based attacks ignoring the Ghisarma's leathery skin and doing damage from within.

And Filo? She was concentrating, both in the sense of her magic power and the strength in her legs, the ground underneath her starting to warp and buckle.

"High Quick!" she announced, exploding forwards, going even faster than the Ghisarma had been a moment ago. She jumped and kicked with all her might, the sheer momentum she had been moving at giving her enough force to produce the noise of bones breaking as she struck.

That was a new one, a new spell Filo had never shown them before, one that dramatically increased her speed as she attacked. They wondered when she'd learned it, but now wasn't the time to ask. More importantly, it proved to be effective as the Ghisarma's pained howls rose to a fever pitch and the monster tipped over, landing on its side and writhing in pain.

"Great! Good job, Filo!" Naofumi enthused. "Now, let's finish it-!"

"Holy Saint!" Elrasla shuddenly shouted, a warning wrapped in a sense of panic.

Arrows burst from the foliage in every direction, even from above, encircling them in a quickly closing hail of fire.

"Meteor Shield!"

Which made it highly convenient that Naofumi, the Shield Hero, was present.

The barrier snapped into existence around them, quick enough that only a handful of arrows made it through, the rest bouncing off harmlessly of the hard light surface. The few that did make it to their targets were easily dodged.

"What the hell! How the hell did they manage to sneak up on us! Old Lady, I thought you were on top of this?!"

The leaves on the bushes and trees rustled, and Ratkin emerged from the forest, dozens of them. But that took a backseat. The arrows that had been fired, their shafts that all had some kind of black beads attached to them, had started to release putrid black smoke from said beads, both from the arrows that had been blocked and the few arrows that had managed to get inside the Meteor Shield.

"It's poison!" Elrasla recognized. "Cover your mouth with some cloth!"

"Never mind that!" Naofumi countered, several potion bottles manifesting from his shield. "Here, drink these Antidotes! They should make us invulnerable to poison for at least ten minutes!"

They did as instructed, chugging the magical Antidotes as they were handed to them. H'aanit had to more or less force Linde to down one, but she managed.

Of course, even if they were now momentarily immune to poison, the thick black smoke was starting to hamper their visibility. Then again, that was but a minor problem, and the mayor problem reminded them of its presence with a snarl. And the fact that it was inside of the protective envelope of the Meteor Shield.

"Fu-" Naofumi started to swear, turning, but by then it was too late to act.

Or, at least, too late to act for him. The Ghisarma, having surged back to its feet in spite of its grievous wounds, kicked off against the ground, aiming to bulldoze Naofumi. But Elrasla managed to tackle the Hero of the Shield out of the way, sending both sprawling, but thankfully both of them avoided any damage. Of course, that just meant that the Ghisarma continued unobstructed onward, and it smashed the one thing that was more or less keeping them save in that moment: the Meteor Shield.

The force field made a sound of shattering glass as the Ghisarma smashed through it. In the blink of an eye, the entire situation changed yet again.

And the Ratkin attacked. They surged into the black smoke, uncaring or knowing that the poison mist they had deployed could not harm them. Arrows started flying, and the close range Ratkin fighters ran towards them. Multiple opponents. Low visibility. Chaos. In such a state, they were forced to rely on nothing more than their instincts.

Two shadowed, small statured, chittering forms threw themselves at him from within the smoke, and reflexes took over.

Shing. Shing.

Two cries of pain resounded, cutting off in wet, blood curdling gurgles, but Shirou was already moving on. Arrows sliced through the air, and he unconsciously dodged them, even as more and more of the Ratkin engaged him in close quarter combat. Unfortunately, even ganging up on him a dozen to one was not favorable odds for them. Instinct having taken over, Shirou showed no mercy as he cut all the Ratkin attacking him down, most of their retaliatory, haphazard attacks being dodged, and those few that managed to hit him merely skipped off his armor.

The difference between Level, skill, and even equipment was simply too great.

I need to get to the others! He thought, frantically dodging through a hail of attacks, his sword all but dancing in his hands as he reaped a bloody toll amongst the Ratkin. Even if he was doing fairly well, a single slip up in conditions like this could be deadly, not to mention that he had no way of knowing if his party members were faring as well as he was. I need to-

"Filo commands the origin of power!" was suddenly heard over the din of combat. "Filo has read and deciphered a law of nature! Blow them all away with a raging tornado! Zweite Tornado!"

A twisting, horizontal tornado speared through the clearing, sending the wind whipping, sucking up and scattering the black poison mist. The tornado continued on, sucking up any unlucky Ratkin in its path and carrying them off into the woods, the monsters being shredded in the process.

Shouts of panic briefly eclipsed the constant drone of combat.

Filo's sudden display of powerful magic had cleared their vision, and the Ratkin he had been fighting had stopped in surprise. Not hesitating, Shirou used the opportunity to attack full throttle, his sword cleaving through flesh and fur.

The Ratkin started moving again, but it did not take him long to finish off the last of them, the last of them dying with hatred in their beady eyes.

Shirou took the chance to quickly look around, idly dodging an arrow. Their party had been scattered all over the clearing the ensuing chaos of the Ratkin ambush, but all of them appeared mostly all right, with a few deep cuts being the worst injury. Most of them were still tangling with a few Ratkin – except for Elrasla, who had long since pounded any would be opponent into little more than mush – but they were a minor concern right now. The Ratkin in the trees, who we were even now targeting them with their bows and arrows, were a much larger concern.

"Meteor Shield!"

Luckily, Naofumi seemed to agree with him. Moreover, the cool down for the Meteor Shield seemed to have run its course, the force field snapping into existence around them.

As this was going on, Filo had finished the last few Ratkin she had been fighting with. Filo, Elrasla and Shirou quickly went to aid their party members who were still fighting. Thankfully, it did not take long to finish off the last of the Ratkin inside the Meteor Shield.

"Ah, I was wondering why so few of the Ratkin were attacking us," Elrasla mused out loud.

She was right, and Shirou had noticed it as well. Compared to the sheer amount of Ratkin present, precious few had attacked them directly after the ambush had been sprung. The reason was obvious: most of the Ratkin were targeting the Ghisarma.

Shirou grimaced as he watched the melee unfold outside of the Meteor Shield. It was, in a word, brutal.

The Ghisarma was injured and exhausted, a few of its ribs broken, bleeding from a dozen plus wounds, and one of its hindlegs, the one Shirou had stabbed, dragged behind, unable to support the monster's weight anymore after it had unwisely forced itself to stand and attack Naofumi earlier. But its sheer power hardly seemed to suffer for it. A single swipe from its arms would send a dozen Ratkin flying, their bleeding, broken bodies rag-dolling through the air. In spite of its broken jaw, the Ghisarma still used its maw full of needle like teeth to maul any challenger that got close.

But the Ratkin gave as good as they got, even as a dozen of them seem to die every few seconds. The Ghisarma's power was still intact, but its speed – its most defining aspect – was crippled, as it limped instead of blitzing from end to end of the clearing. Moreover, the Paralysis Naofumi had inflicted on it would flare up and freeze the Ghisarma in place every few seconds.

The Ratkin seized the openings provided with all the cruelty one would expect from monsters.

Their claws, crude short range weapons and arrows pierced the Ghisarma's flesh in a continues brutal display, having to really hammer their attacks in a singular spot in order to pierce its tough skin. But with the sheer one track minded brutality they were showing, the Ratkin were capable of harming the beast.

Whatever beef the Ratkin might have had with them, the enmity between the Ghisarma and the Ratkin was clearly far greater. And weakened as the Ghisarma was after their fight, now was a golden opportunity to get rid of the menace.

And as both the Ratkin and Ghisarma were ignoring them…

"Shirou. Here," Naofumi said, handing over a familiar, spherical object.

The male demi-human looked at it for a moment, then nodded and turned towards the brutal fight.

"What aren thee..?" H'aanit turned to look at them, her eyes widening as it dawned on her what they were about to do.

Shirou watched from within the safety the Meteor Shield, waited until the maximum amount of Ratkin had pressed in close to their hated enemy…and acted the second the Ghisarma froze in place again, the static electricity of the Paralysis locking up its muscles.

The Ghisarma could do little more than widen its eyes as the Incendiary Bomb bounced off the soil in front of its face. Lost in their frenzy as they were, the Ratkin didn't even notice.

BOOM!

Fire and force ripped through the clearing, outright sending many of the diminutive Ratkin flying, in pieces more often then not. Those that had been at a safe distance, the ones targeting the Ghisarma with their bows and arrows from the tree branches, fled back into the forest in fear, holding their paws to their sensitive ears as they scampered away in panic and confusion

The Ghisarma's sheer mass saved it from being sent flying, it was far too heavy for that. But that was a cold comfort at best. The Incendiary Bomb had detonated in its face, fire washing over its form and searing flesh from bone. Internally, the close range concussive explosion did terrible damage, causing internal bleedings and even damage to its organs. And the explosion all but shattered the bones that had already been broken during the battle.

Its injuries were fatal, without a doubt, but the Ghisarma was too stubborn to simply lie down and die. It forced itself back on its feet.

H'aanit put an unceremonious end to the Ghisarma by raising her bow and putting one of her arrows between its eyes. Its defiance had given it but a single step before collapsing, finally dead.

"…Harsh," Filo blinked.

"Sometimes, thee needen to be harsh to be'en kind," H'aanit said, Linde growling in agreement with the unfortunate truth.

And with that, the Dark Woods was liberated from its savage invader.


Sorry for the long time between updates, guys. I don't really have an excuse, just that a lot of things happened IRL lately.

Moreover, I am more or less putting my writing, this story or otherwise, on hiatus for the foreseeable future. I have more or less finished school and started working in my chosen field, but I still need to finish my last project before I get my diploma. So, I'm going to mainly be focusing on that and putting writing on a backburner. Which won't mean I won't be writing at all, but just probably very little and there probably won't be an update until I after I have turned in my project and (hopefully) gained my diploma.

So, yeah. Sorry for this, but it is what it is. Hopefully, till soon again!